Rage of Bahamut wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It definitely involves collecting cards and battling other players, but it’s more akin to a browser game than what most would consider a “proper” iOS title. Whether or not this is a bad thing depends a lot on personal preference, but anyone willing to look past the clunky interface just might find themselves having a great time.

At its core, Rage of Bahamut is all about gathering cards in order to complete quests (or battle other players) in order to get better cards, etc. But that’s just the basics. Quests can be completed in order to acquire treasure, more cards, cash, and experience for whichever card has been designated the Leader. It’s all used as expected (i.e. buying car packs, building a stronger deck, etc), really.

The absolutely stellar illustrations are a definite standout, but Rage of Bahamut is more than just a pretty face. The choice of questing, fighting other players for treasures, or both appeal to a fairly broad range while the way it handles duplicates is nothing short of genius. Having two of the same card grants the option to sacrifice one to evolve the other into a stronger form. But even if a card has been upgraded as far as it can go there’s still the option of converting an unwanted double into experience. Like I said; it’s genius.

The only real problem with Rage of Bahamut is kind of a doozy. The interface is, for lack of a better word, lacking. A lot. It’s essentially like playing on an old HTML website. That in itself wouldn’t be too bad but many of the menus don’t entirely fit on the iPhone’s screen and have to be scrolled through in order to reach some pretty essential buttons. Similarly some of the interface options aren’t clear at all. I can’t even begin to guess how long it took me to figure out how to change my deck’s leader card. It’s basically functional overall, but it could stand to be a lot more intuitive.

Navigating through the multitude of status screens and option boxes takes lots of getting used to and a decent amount of patience, but it’s worth it in the end. Rage of Bahamut is one surprisingly cool CCG. It keeps things interesting by changing up the expected formula quite a bit and features some incredibly clever ideas. I’d say it’s definitely worth a look.

iPhone Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

iPad Screenshots

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